Trish and Jeff arrived through a 12” snow just after Christmas and stayed through more snow after New Year’s. She reflected, “It was simply a beautifully relaxing time.” Martha and I enjoyed a great meal and true fellowship with them in their wonderful home setting. Thanks again!

Jon Flaig is introducing a “Village Concept” to one area of his development- Reflections. Good luck, Jon, with the adjustment to combat these market changes.

Although our ten slip common area dock is still in Dukes’ pipeline for approval, Lisa Leatherman, the Lake Management Director, is considering a temporary approval for moving one of our docks to that location until the ten slip is constructed. With no detriment to the lake bed, she did permit us to install anchoring devices while the lake level was low. Thanks Lisa! We were supervised by a family of otters during installation.

The eagle nest is active again this year. Beautiful birds even though they deplete our trout from the pool. It’s fun watching them around the nest.

Evelyn Owens at Keller Williams has added a visual tour of the project to her website, www.sellingfranklin.com. It compliments the video she posted of Lake Nantahala and Arrowhead Point Retreat. Thanks Evelyn!

Kevin and Gay Moore at Nantahala Realty are excited about the activity now occurring. He showed one of our lakefront lots. It’s a wait and see game. Thanks for your encouragement, Kevin!

The Shackletons’ windows arrived mid January to a 15” snow. Wish you could have seen that tractor trailer drivers’ eyes as he had to back down the snowy drive to unload! It’s great to see their home closed in now.

Barb and Chris shared an enjoyable dinner and tour of their finished lower level living area with Martha and me. What a great addition to an already beautiful home. Thanks again Barb and Chris.

We hope Patrice is going to pour her last Coke at Headquarters soon and begin sipping them permanently at Arrowhead Point Retreat. Just maybe, they will get footings poured for construction giving her onsite supervision work, if and when she retires!

Any good marketing ideas will be greatly appreciated.

Emory and Martha

Terri & Eric, your Trout Pool lot was beautiful during the heavy snowfall between Christmas and New Year’s. Wish we could have been enjoying that Ft. Myers weather with you, as well!

Rick Rosenblooms’ idea for our November 18th marketing strategy meeting proved to be informative. Realtors, bankers, homeowners, architectural designers and developers were represented. Dialogue centered around competing with the flood of foreclosures and short sales sucking the oxygen out of our real estate market. It appears the first quarter of 2011, according to Wells Fargo’s rep- Karen Plemmons, will see an additional flood of distressed property dumped into the market. Whew! The uniqueness of the Lake Nantahala location may be an important positive for us. Not many short sales have occurred here. To compete in the current market, Rick agreed his paring of Chattahoochee Timberframes and Moss Creek Designs’ rep- Erwin Loveland- may tack toward a downsizing structurally without yielding to loss of quality. Martha and I have agreed to our realtors’ suggestion to reduce the lot pricing to coincide with the county’s depreciated values. There are only 24 lots unsold.

To build our Family of Families at Arrowhead Point, networking personal contacts was suggested. John Shackleton says he and Janice are looking forward to guests joining them when Campbell Construction completes their home. Let’s hope some may love the project enough to join them here.

Jerry Campbell’s Construction crew is booming along on John and Janice’s Lot #13 custom home. As of the end of October, framing is complete to the dry stage… great for productive work these chilly months ahead!

Janice, your structure orientation, capturing the native granite view on one side, plus the spectacular mountain/lake view from the front, makes that great room, screened porch, and abundant deck an enviable living area! Thanks for taking Arrowhead Point Retreat a step further in fulfilling the Developer’s dream.

Our marketing plans continue with Rick Rosenblooms’ Chattahoochee Timber Frame Company (www.chattahoocheetimberframes.com) partnering with Moss Creek Designs to bring custom plans, unique to each of this projects’ lots.

Trish and Jeff, the nature path to your private dock is an awesome engineering feat. Those guys did an excellent job “laying it in” to the prevailing slope. We admire the exterior stain you selected; your homes’ “lake appeal” is enhanced by it’s blending to the ridges natural settings. Heavens! What a presence you have created for this retreat! Your contractor, Red Fifer, and his artisans did a remarkable job. We enjoy visiting, to catch your latest landscape enhancement, each time we cross paths from our Winston-Salem trip up.

Complementing their websites’ slide show, Evelyn Owens at Franklins’ Keller Williams office is enhancing that site ( HYPERLINK "http://www.sellingfranklin.com" www.sellingfranklin.com) with an Arledge Armenaki video of Lake Nantahala and Arrowhead Point Retreats’ features. His ten years teaching at the North Carolina School of the Arts prepared him for his current position as Director of Photography and Professor of Cinematography at Western Carolina University. Can’t wait to view it, Evelyn.

Just peaked fall foliage, back dropped views that appeared to change hourly with life on the lake. The great room window at Barb and Chris’ Lot #3 residence gives the warmest, most poignant seasonal panoramic views of these changes…looking down across the lake, wind patterns and boat wakes on the waters surface blend with “cloud laced” sunsets across the western saddle of these Nantahala ridges. My, what peace of mind and soul is harvested from that window. Their builder, Dick Strahan, left them a superior quality home for social outings to be shared with visiting family from England (Barbs origin) and valued friends cultivated through their professions. Chris, your landscaped walks and Barb, your flower and plant selections make our project even more desirable. Thank you!

Joe and Wellyns’ Lot #10, Eric and Terri’s Lot #25, and Patrice and Rick’s Lot #24 are eagerly anticipated projects as their life’s plans materialize.

Both Gay Moore of Nantahala Realty and Evelyn Owens at Keller Williams are prepared to show the Retreats’ only available home, finally completed this year. It’s a beauty worth considering if your interest is in a secure investment.

One of the daytrip highlights of September was the Macon County Agricultural Fair. It was a free and fun exposition of this mountain county’s heritage.

The Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts continues to offer a varied venue for an evening out.

Given the current economic situation, we are fortunate, custom construction continues at Arrowhead Point Retreat.

Just confirms the quality of your and our project, doesn’t it?

Martha and Emory Crawford

That skittish black bear (July News) our daughter Pam, with husband Mark Dellinger, recorded on camera posed a bit of excitement later in the day. He was found across the ridge munching corn in the live trap, set for wild boar. He was carefully released without harm to bear or man! Their children (Nikki with her fiancée Kennedy Martinez and our great-granddaughter Jolene, and Travis with his guest Matthew Webb) continued wildlife interaction and water sports including scuba diving. Matthew’s Alaskan doll sheep hunting trip next week with his dad will probably offer a wider variety of wildlife, but I wonder….

Another daughter and her family (Mandi and Dennis Whisenhunt with their children Dalton, Jenna and Carson) along with the Vandiver family, Allen and Rae, and their children Des, Bobby and Thad, and Dalton’s friend Blake Wise enjoyed the lake while sailing, jet skiing, sight seeing, tubing, and relaxing around the campfire at Camp Sequoyah’s rustic Grouse Nest Lodge. A highlight of their trip was acquiring “Polar Bear Club” status- hiking up the trail through mountain laurel and standing under the chilly cascading waters of the thundering 30’-40’ high Clear Creek Falls. Not too many can boast that certification! Big congratulations to Dalton, Blake and their Senior Division Little League team for winning the North Carolina State Championship!!!

As of 8-20-10, the foundation is in place, the subfloor is laid, and the first floor is framed for the #94 Arrowhead Point East residence. Their architect has created, with the owners input, a final design capturing the essence of this magnificent Lot #13 here in the Retreat. John and Janice- we can’t wait to see your finished product!

Their initial visit to the open house at Arrowhead Point and ensuing introduction to Lake Nantahala was an “eye opener” for our co-listing agents- Franklins’ Keller Williams Realty Group.

They will be holding their Annual Company Picnic event August 28th at Camp Sequoyah on Nantahala Lake. We wish them a great day!!!

Our Lake Nantahala families enjoyed a beautiful July 4th weekend- fireworks, boat parade, great food and fellowship!

An Arrowhead Point Retreat Open House is set for July 31st. See the Riverbend Timberframe link for details.

For attendees from years past, 1950’s through 1978, our Camp Sequoyah reunion sponsored by the Little Tennessee Land Trust was a spiritually moving event. Some attendees even dared a renewal visit to the lake fed Clear Creek Falls, dubbed “Polar Bear Falls”. For those brave enough to stand under her thirty foot cascading waters, it was a renewing memorable moment.

Our new co-listing agent is Evelyn Owens. She and ten of her brokers from the Franklin Keller-Williams office were amazed with their introduction tour of Lake Nantahala, Arrowhead Point Retreat, and the Lot #1 TimberFrame Model Home. Check them for their critique at www.sellingfranklin.com.

U.S. Fish & Wildlife biologist, Mark Cantrell, arrived July 19th to chronicle the eagle nest (visible from the Retreat). We had informed him of the three hatchlings departing with their mom just two days before. His Gulf tour to the oil spill had prevented his earlier planned trip to film them. He also gave the U.S. Fish & Wildlife approval for our ten slip marina common area at Arrowhead Point.

Wildlife tales abound at the Arrowhead Lands Developers’ family property:
A family of river otters, cruising playfully at the lakes edge, bypassed our trout pools’ rainbow inventory, Thank Heaven!! A wild boar, destructive to the forest flora, was not so fortunate. He was harvested from the Camp Sequoyah property this past week. Depredation permits allow such harvesting.

Deer, now with fawns, browse vetch and eat blackberries from off our Retreat roads. Wild turkeys, but no ruffed grouse so far this summer, are continually sighted. Finally, a skittish black bear turned momentarily for camera shots while eating plump, sweet blackberries before trotting off around the trout pond.

Record Kokanee Salmon

A record setting 3 lb. 9 oz. Kokanee Salmon was caught from Lake Nantahala by Ashley Swann.

Although native to the western United States, the Kokanee was stocked in the 1960's toward establishing a forage fish for the lake trout.

Lake Nantahala is the only high elevation body of water in North Carolina suporting the Kokanee Salmon.